Michigan not wearing any alternate jerseys this year?

From Ondre Pipkins latest tweet, it looks like Michigan will not be wearing any alternate jersey's this year. Pipkins seems disappointed by this, but I'm sure there's a lot of fellow MGoBloggers that will be happy to hear this news. It didn't seem like many people on the board were big fans of the alternate uni's last year.

It's time the players were taught that Michigan's tradition means more than the apparel contract rat race college football uniforms have become. You come here, you play for the stripes on the winged helmet. Not for the off-chance of having the occasional bumblebee stripes on your jersey.

I respectfully disagree. Just because you have a brand (and the logo with it) doesn't mean you are locked in for eternity and there aren't opportunities to experiment. The Michigan brand is excellence - it's domination in the classroom, on a playing field, and in the real world. Maize and blue in one unique combination personify that brand to some degree, yet don't on their own signify the brand, or else the brand would have been somehow damaged over the years by the changes.

I personally think that a blue jersey with maize pants is the coolest thing there is (the simplicity is key), but i won't discourage looking at ways to balance tradition with the future. I think Brandon is a pretty shrewd guy and I'm sure he and his team (with whomever they have as an apparel provider) will keep tinkering (and not become Oregon overnight)

is that neither adidas or the athletic department will put forth any subtle, sustainable alterations to the existing uniforms that can be used modestly over an extended period of time. Everything has to be big and have the "wow factor." White and blue pants that can be alternated with both home and away uniforms, and the matte helments, those are all subtle modifications that could be available to be employed one at a time, every now and then. This would provide some variety without drastically altering the entire operation.

The problem is the need to employ all of these different alterations at the same time that results in a Uniformz explosion that is painful to the eyes.. The alternates used by Michigan are too loud to just be "part of the story" so it always feels like we are just joining the revolution and detracts from the football. It is time for Michigan to act like they have been there before with alternates and not have to jump up and down and shout "HEY LOOK AT ME" all game long. Do we need bumblebees against Michigan State, a huge rival, where tradition should be most important? Absolutely not. Would it be cool to be in all whites or matte helmets just because we feel like it when we go on the road to kick the shit out of Illinois? Yeah, I don't think that would be too bad.

disagree. I would rather see minor deviations available as part of a uniform rotation in which the basic idea/pattern of the uniform never changes. I feel like that is the "old-style" alternates. Think Florida State in the early to mid 1990s. They were always the same uniforms, they just varied the colors. Sometimes on the road they would be the red-maroon pants with the white jerseys, that look in particular was sweet. I see Michigan being able to do something similar with their colors and base patters. I think blue pants with white jerseys on the road would be completely original for the team but still not sell-out the uniform concept. Blue on blue at home every once in a while would be a nice touch too. Not for big games, just for a game, just cause it is available and why not shake it up a little once in while.

Wholesale throwbacks are not only distracting but they are not throwbacks at all. They are new uniform concepts made to look like old uniforms that never existed in the first place. It is that kind of "big idea" thinking that is getting in the way of some nice, small variations that have been employed at places of substantial history and tradition to great effect in the past.

The players are the ones that put their body on the line everday for four years. Some of them will leave will devestating injuries (ala Bass) and others, their abuse will catch up over time. If the players want to wear alternate jerseys, then they should be allowed to wear them. Who cares what fans who risk nothing or someone who played in the band back in the day says about something as superficial as pageantry.

let's not act like the is the Hunger Games for god sake. Yes, players should have more insight than fans, but alums, doners, and fans should not be admonished for having an opinion. The pageantry does factor into fandom.

I started school at UM in '71, and at that time seemingly 80% of the student body was wearing tie-died shirts. I guess you would have been OK if Bo had agreed to tie-died patterns being incorporated into the jersey design.

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." — Mencken

I say let the kids mix it up... and as far as what my children wear: I encourage them to try different looks and explore/expand their wardrobe. Of course when I was in high school I turned the inside of my football helmet blue from my blue hair...

If the alternates weren't all horrible mixes of maize and blue block and stripe patterns. When your traditional uniform looks far better than any alternates a company can design, you know you've done something right. Don't fix it if it ain't broke.

I'd also like to note that we lost both games that we wore alternates in last year. I know logically that it doesn't matter, but that doesn't stop me from wearing the same shirt every Saturday during college football season.

I think it would be ok if we had maybe 1 alternate jersey every couple years or so. so that way everyone on the team can experience it once.

I think UTL is a perfect time to do it. Or if they beat that Ohio team.

I mean in recruiting those kids take notice and they like having all those extra jerseys. Michigan is a team that can afford it so it will help with recruiting (not that we need a lot of help) and exposure (playoff will be voted in from what i understand).

BUT

we need epic designs! mixing tradition with a little new flare and Approved by mgoblog

i thought the 2011 UTL uni's were not bad but they could be better. UTL is a big event and it was refreshing to add some panache to the jerseys.

If players want new unis couldnt it also could be a sort of reward. Exampe they are good enought to get to a bowl game or championship game throw in some new unis.

I think those reasons are better than just having new unis for the heck of it.

again im not saying every year or every BIG championship but these kids pour a heck of a lot into the team and why not let them have some fun everyonce in a while. Heck some artists on the could submit a few designs and have a team vote.

but lets keep OSU a traditional game. Only our traditional uniforms or on special occasions (such as the 150th meeting or something) we have a jersey on to honor past meetings by wearing that year's jersey design. the very first meeting or 50th meeting or something to that effect

OR

in 1913 OSU and U of M didnt play, so we honor that year 100 years later by wearing the jersey they would have worn back then

Not sure it was your actual idea but I like wearing our (fantastic) normal jerseys against OSU & considering an alternative if we wind up in the B1G champ game (likely against OSU)...THAT would be the time to wear the alternate...indoors, special game. Not the traditional Nov game

I don't think alternate uni's are a bad thing inherently. Its what the kids like, and I really liked the UTL jerseys, but I thought the 2011 MSU jerseys, or more specifically, the white pants, were atrocious. Our boys should wear maize pants, plain and simple. And the Alabama uni's had too much maize. Thought I was looking at a bunch of bumblebees.

Sugar Bowl uni's were fine, and the Outback Bowl uni's would have been great all around (loved the Matte helmets) if the names could have been read.

Attention campers. Lunch is cancelled due to lack of hustle. Deal with it.

I know they're trying a chrome thing with the helmets. I said this in another thread. IF it is approved, they'd wear it vs nebraska. Can't go into anymore detail into it. There certainly is more to it than a chrome finish but I'd get in big trouble if I said anymore

from former players that wanted alternate uniforms but didn't get them. So far I haven't seen anything. So until proven wrong (like if Tom Brady says he would have liked to rotate jerseys each week during his Michigan days), I will hold the belief that interest in alternate jerseys is artificially created by those that market them, and future football recruits do not have the free will necessary to make a choice of whether or not to have alternate jerseys.

Sadly, quotes of players/recruits that don't like the alternate uniforms they have to wear will be filtered under "reasons for mancrush on said player," so they don't weigh nearly as strongly with me.

For just ONE game, ONE I think it would be a wonderful tribute to Fielding Yost, Harry Kipke, Gerald Ford, Willis Ward, Bennie Oosterbaan and all of the great players pre-winged helmet days (1938). Brown helmet, Dark blue jersey with dark yellow numerals and tan or brown pants with navy socks and black shoes.

Only jersey adjustment I cannot wait for is hen we finally win the big ten(hopefully this year), and hopefully keep with the tradition of having the imprints on the jersey on top of the shoulder pads. Every big ten title team as long as I can remember had them and I always loved them, especially in the rose bowl. Even when we shared the bg ten and had to play in the citrus bowl I loved them. Was actually disappointing in 06 when we made rose bowl and didn't ave them, but looking bad only big ten champs deserve them.

I don't like all of the alternates, but this is such an overreaction to the public "outrage"/blog whining/etc.

It's like that parent or teacher that hears all of the complaining and says "fine, we won't do ANYTHING since you all can't stop complaining about it!"

Again, I hate these things, except the first UTL uni's, those were AWESOME! But I also understand that the players like them and recruits like them.

That said, rather than 5 of these things...how about 1 per year? Why does it have to be one extreme or the other? Either we do it every other game...or not at all. No, just do 1 per year...one night game (home or away) of the regular season.

It's not that difficult.

“True loyalty is that quality of service that grows under adversity and expands in defeat. Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise — the other, loyalty.”

Just because we haven't heard anything yet doesn't mean we won't have any alternates, I'm afraid. Those GOD awful uniforms against State were not unveiled until the day of the game. And Brandon seems to think any bowl game deserves it's own jersey now, even if it's the ho-hum Outback Bowl. So expect to see something bad around Christmas.

I'm really hoping the team will be wearing their regular kick ass uniforms for the Notre Dame game. Seeing them under a night sky is pretty sweet. Just ask anyone who went to Braylonfest in 2004.

"wolverinehistorian, for someone so dedicated and seemingly level headed, his grudges are monumental." ~ triangle_M

over the "piping" on the jerseys during RR's first season? If he'd introduced the bumble-bee jerseys that so many today think are awesome, Bill Martin would have had to post armed guards down at Fort Schembechler.

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard." — Mencken

But athletic director Dave Brandon said this week that Michigan is expected to change course in 2013, ditching the alternate uniforms and sticking to its classic home and aways for at least the regular season. "We don't have any plans to do anything," Brandon said during the Big Ten athletic director meetings in Chicago. "Now if we get into the postseason and the kids all get together with the coaches and they want to do something unique, which we've done the last couple bowl games, I'd be just fine sitting down with them and empowering them to come up with something that would be fun for them and energizing for them.

“True loyalty is that quality of service that grows under adversity and expands in defeat. Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise — the other, loyalty.”

At the risk of making a hasty generalization, it really does seem to me that recruits and younger fans enjoy the alternate unis. I'm fine with one a year. Also, if we could incorporate those matte finish helmets a la Outback Bowl, please.

But the flip side of what you're saying is that I really, really don't want to see a Michigan team lose to Ohio wearing clown suits.

As a player, you should have to accomplish something before you can start expecting perks like alternate unis. It shouldn't be automatic. It should mean something. On a personal level, of course, just making it onto the field at Michigan Stadium is an awesome accomplishment. But as a team, I think you have to ask more.

I like the idea of telling the team they'll have alternate unis for the Big Ten championship game, not before.

Somehow teams like Alabama seem to have great dedication from both their fans and their players without messing with a traditional look. Oregon's uniform roulette might get them attention, but it doesn't get them wins.

I personally am thrilled at the possibility that Michigan's uniforms might actually be consistent this year.

the explosion of alt unis has yielded a lot of fugly stuff. But the UTL jerseys--which I initially struggled with--were in the end pretty darned nice, managed to gesture toward the past and to look great in the present. (Wish they would just keep the UTL uniforms for occasional future use.) Let's take what's offered on its own merits; if kept limited, it keeps everyone's interest aroused.

I don't mind one a year, but, as others have said, I'd prefer to keep the OSU game "sacred." The fact that OSU has worn hideous "throw-backs" the past couple years agaisnt us should only make our adherence to tradition more important.

I love our traditional unis of couse. Best in sports imho. And as long as that is our default, then all i good.

But I'm 100pct behind making alternates (as long as they look better than the crap that adidas has been making except UTLI). Including helmets.
If that's what it takes to improve recruiting even 1%, then great.

I'd much rather have a great team in uniformz than an okay team in uniforms.

Besides, it's a sign of the times. It doesn't really appeal to me because it isn't supposed to. I haven't been college aged for awhile.

And things come full circle all the time: in ten years, the hip thing will be to go strictly traditional in uniforms. Then we'll be arguing on these boards about what uniforms are traditional ENOUGH.

Heck, we can't even agree what "traditional" MAIZE looks like. So I don't sweat it.

I just don't think adidas has the skills needed, frankly. But the concept, I'm okay with. Yes - even chrome helmets.

As long as we're clear what our default uni is.

Honestly, I wish there was more discussion about allowing away teams to wear their home colors in NCAA football as long as there is sharp contrast between the two teams. It would make a lot of this alternate crap go away if we could wear our default #1 great looking traditional home jerseys ON THE ROAD.

i think this is a good thing and and a bad thing at the same time!! because as players we like to have new unis i think the under the lights game should be Alternate jerseys because we already established that this game the last time played in michigan stadium was a exciting, nail bitting, game that we all remember. Plus we won the game

While I enjoy most of UM's tradition as much as the next guy, I tend to flinch at that being the sole justification for doing something. I'm pretty sure Crisler painting the wings on the helmets was (gasp, dare I say) NOT traditional at the time.

For what it's worth, I mostly liked the matte helmets. I didn't like that the strips and wings were glossy and the blue was matte. If they do the matte thing, I think they should go all the way.

I also liked the throwback uniforms from the night game against ND. Didn't care for the away version against MSU, though.